Threads of Fate
by Elisabeth James
Summary: It's Mamoru's birthday and all he wants to do is spend it with Usagi, but unexpected interference is about to force Mamoru to make the hardest choice of his life, his parents or Usagi...


Threads of Fate  
Part 1/1  
By Elisabeth James  
ejames000@ameritech.net  
  
My Mamo-day fic! I have had this idea for awhile now but  
never quite knew how to make it work :) Enjoy!  
  
This was slightly inspired by Alicia Blade's Hostage   
Situation. I was reading it when I got this idea :)  
  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own sailormoon :)  
  
  
"Happy birthday Mamo-chan!" Usagi planted a soft kiss on  
the corner of his mouth as she bounced happily into his apartment.   
Mamoru turned to his perky girlfriend with a huge grin.  
"I wasn't expecting you for at least another 15 minutes.   
You never cease to amaze me Usa-ko." she punched him playfully  
in the arm and gave him a stern look.  
"I wanted to get here early to give you your birthday gift."  
she brandished a small silver box from behind her back and placed  
it into Mamoru's open palm.  
"Usa-ko, you didn't need to get me anything. Just having  
you by my side on my birthday is enough of a present for me." But  
he kissed her just the same and set the gift down on the couch on  
his way back to the kitchen.  
"You're not going to open it now?" Usagi trailed after him,  
the aroma of food that was now making it's way throughout the  
apartment made her stomach rumble. Whatever Mamoru was  
cooking, it smelled fantastic.  
"After dinner, it's bad luck to open presents on an empty  
stomach." she narrowed her eyes at him, she had never heard  
anything like that before. Oh well, if he wanted to wait, he could  
wait. She hoisted herself up onto the kitchen counter and watched  
Mamoru continue to make dinner.  
She peeked into the open pot that was simmering on the  
cooktop, "What's that Mamoru?" she sniffed the air slightly and a  
savory scent invaded her nostrils. "It smells delicious!"  
"Try it, let me know what you think." he placed a wooden  
spoon in front of her mouth. She opened up and a mild spicy  
flavor exploded in her mouth.  
She gasped and her eyes started to water, "It's hot!" she  
slid quickly off the countertop and over to the sink. She turned the  
cold water on full blast and let it sooth her burning tongue.   
"I'm sorry Usa-ko, I didn't know it would be that warm."  
he went place a hand on her shoulder when something started to  
hum.   
It was a soft noise at first, almost pleasant. It grew louder,  
and Mamoru could feel the energy coursing through the tiny  
kitchen. Usagi turned off the faucet and turned to him puzzled.  
"Mamo-chan, what's that noise?" she grabbed his arm and  
clung to him. She knew something bad was about to happen.  
"I don't know Usa-ko, stay close." the noise was now at it's  
full peak, it reminded Mamoru of speaker feedback. He tried to  
cover his ears but it was too late. A flash of white light blinded the  
two of them. As it slowly faded away, Mamoru and Usagi were  
gone.  
  
**~**~**~**~**  
  
They were out in the middle of nowhere, far away from the  
harsh lights of Tokyo. The air was cleaner and a strong wind blew  
through the tree that surrounded that area they had been  
transported to. One lone car was on the desolate road at this time  
of night, it's headlight's pierced through the darkness. Mamoru  
opened his eyes and threw his hand up off his eyes to block the  
glare that was staring him down. He knew that Usagi was no  
longer in his arms, her warm presence had been taken away from  
him. He stood up, his eyes slowly adjusting to the bright light. He  
walked closer to the car, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.  
"Mamo-chan!" Usagi's anguished cry echoed through the  
still night air. Her hands clutched the cold metal bars that  
surrounded her, her knuckles turning white under the stress. Tears  
streamed down her cheeks leaving trails of salty dampness on her  
cool face. She slid to the floor of the tiny cage and watched her  
boyfriend walk farther away from her.  
"It can't be..." disbelief echoed softly in his voice.   
Mamoru ran his hand over the smooth outside of the red station  
wagon that sat before him. The tinted windows were rolled up and  
Mamoru couldn't see inside. Usagi's tortured cries finally broke  
the spell of amazement that had held firm since the second they  
had arrived here. Her small form was crouched at the bottom of a  
cage, shaking like a leaf. He looked over his shoulder once more  
at the gleaming red car and then ran toward Usagi's miniature  
prison.  
"Stop right now Chiba Mamoru. Or the entire future you  
know could be destroyed." Usagi stopped crying and listened to  
the booming voice that seemed to surround her. She stood up and  
spun around, looking for any other signs of life.  
"I know that voice!" Usagi suddenly exclaimed, she turned  
to Mamoru. "It's Sailor Pluto!" Mamoru's features were twisted  
with anger.  
"Where are we and why is Usagi imprisoned like that?" he  
shouted into the sky. Pluto materialized in front of him, a calm  
smile spreading across her dark features.  
"Stay calm Mamoru-san, nothing will happen to her. I just  
needed to keep her out of the way for awhile. I can't have her  
interfering with your decision."  
"What decision? Where are we?" he asked again, his voice  
growing colder every second.  
"We are here, the place where your parents died so long  
ago. Time has been stopped only minutes before the car lost  
control and went over the cliff." Usagi gasped and watched  
Mamoru sink to his knees.  
"Why have you brought us here?" he asked her softly, he  
looked at the station wagon sitting behind him. He now knew who  
was in that car. He could still picture his father behind the wheel,  
whistling a happy tune as they continued their road trip through the  
mountain pass. His mother was seated next to him, singing softly  
to him in the backseat. Tears crept into the corners of his eyes and  
he stared up at the amazon woman in front of him.  
"You have a decision to make Mamoru-san, your parents or  
Usagi." her voice held sympathy for the young man, if it were up  
to her this entire test of love would have been left out. It was only  
to uphold the time continuum that she had brought the couple here  
and forced Mamoru to choose.  
"What?" the air was still now, the wind had stopped. Usagi  
didn't speak, she only watched Mamoru silently glanced at her and  
then back to the car.  
"Your parents' lives can be saved if you are willing to give  
up Usagi. I can make that station wagon stay on the road and  
continue on it's merry way. You'll never have to be an orphan,  
when I send you back to your time everything will be different."  
Pluto touched his shoulder, "I am sorry Mamoru-san but this  
decision has to be made." he nodded numbly. The thoughts raced  
through his head like wildfire. How could he choose?  
He looked at his girlfriend crying silently in her cast iron  
cage. She didn't speak, she couldn't, this was his choice, if he  
wanted her gone there was nothing she could do.  
"What happens if I choose Usagi?" he asked Pluto, his eyes  
never leaving his princess's.  
"I will send you back to your apartment, and time will  
continue on as planned. You can continue celebrating your  
birthday as if nothing happened." she tapped her garnet rod  
impatiently in the dirt. She already knew who he would choose, it  
was just a matter of waiting the decision out.  
He stood up slowly and walked over to the car. He turned  
to Pluto, "May I?" she nodded and he opened up the car door. As  
he slid inside, he could smell the two scents of he could remember  
most from his childhood: his mother's soft rose perfume and his  
dad's aftershave. He leaned up into the front seat, his mother's  
laughing face was the first thing he noticed. She was always  
happy, a smile was like a favorite piece of jewelry to her, she never  
took it off. He touched her hair softly, taking in every second of  
this moment because he already knew exactly who he was going to  
choose.   
Mamoru smiled at his father who was from a Styrofoam  
cup filled with coffee. It was that cup that would cause the fatal  
accident to take place when his father spilled it all over himself.   
He would become distracted and not watch the road. The car  
would lose control and fly over the cliff, killing both Mr. and Mrs.  
Chiba and severely injuring their six year old son. He wished he  
could take that cup of coffee and throw it out the open car door.   
He wished that he could change everything that was about to  
happen.  
Finally he turned to the little boy sitting next to him, his  
tousled black hair hung in his blue eyes. He held an open book in  
his lap, not knowing of the terrible events about to take place.   
Mamoru smiled at the younger version of him.  
"I know you can't hear me right now but I'm going to say  
something anyway. When mom and dad die, it's going to be bad.   
Everything you used to know will be gone forever and you're  
going to feel alone and scared. It's going to be like that for a long  
time but after you meet her, everything will get better. She's our  
guardian angel, she's our savior. She means everything to me,  
she's the person who made me what I am today. She's our past,  
present and future. She is the reason why I can't choose to let our  
parents live." he sighed, "Just be strong little guy, everything turns  
out okay in the end."  
He got slowly out of the car and walked back over to Pluto.   
Tears gleamed softly in his eyes, pain reflected a thousand fold in  
those blue orbs.  
"I can't do it Pluto. I have lived all these years without my  
parents, alone. I survived and now I have a life, a future and a  
girlfriend that I can't bear to give up. Usagi means the world to  
me, I need her more than anything else. She makes me happier  
than anyone else in the world ever could. Even if I didn't have to  
grow up alone, I would never be complete if she was gone. That's  
why I can't choose my parents over her. The world would be a  
much darker place without my Usa-ko around." The cage around  
Usagi faded away and she ran into his open arms. They embraced,  
tears ran down her cheeks and dripped into his black shirt. He  
rocked her back and forth, loving every moment of her skin  
touching his.  
Pluto smiled, "You made the right decision Mamoru-san.   
This is just another testament to your undying love for one another.   
Never forget that you can always rely on one another, even through  
your toughest times." Mamoru turned away from the girl he held  
tightly in his arms.  
"Thank you Pluto, for the chance to see my parents again."  
she nodded.  
"I'll send you home now." a bright light settled over them  
once again.  
  
**~**~**~**~**  
  
Usagi opened her eyes to Mamoru's apartment. They were  
back in the kitchen, as if nothing had happened at all.  
"Mamo-chan." she snuggled closer to him, and sighed. "I  
love you."  
"I love you too Usa-ko." they stayed like for a moment, just  
savoring one another's warmth. She finally pulled away from him  
and ran into the living room. She returned with the small silver  
box in her hands.  
"Please open it now!" she pleaded with him, her eyes were  
smiling, the tears of a few minutes ago forgotten. He smiled and  
took the package from her hands. He untied the bow and smiled  
when he saw what was inside.  
A pair of rose shaped cufflinks rested neatly inside the box.  
"I figured with all the formal wear you own, that you could  
always use something like that." she told him nervously, "Do you  
like them?"   
"They're wonderful Usa-ko." he kissed her with enough  
passion to start a fire in the small apartment.  
"Wow, They're just cufflinks Mamo-chan." she told him  
softly. He chuckled and pulled her closer to him  
"You mean everything to me, you know that right?" she  
nodded, tears filling up in her azure eyes. "And that if you ever  
disappeared from my life, I would hunt you down and make sure  
that you never left my side again."  
"Oh Mamo-chan." she buried her face in his shoulder and  
inhaled the scent that was etched in her brain. The soft smell of  
roses that clung to him no matter what he wore. "Happy birthday."  
  
The End!  
  
AWWW! *big collective sigh from group* wasn't that sweet?   
WAFFy to the core! Well hopefully I get more feedback on this  
then I did on Forbidden Hearts, was chapter 5 that bad?! *sighs*  
oh well...  
Special thanks to: Clare-chan, SB, Kelly, Usako, and Meredith :) 


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